UTM - askastudent

commerce, extra courses, UTM

try, try again

April 20, 2018

Hi,
So I am a first year commerce student at utm and im almost positive im probably not going to get into the post that applied for. If i don’t get in, what are my options in terms of getting into the commerce program? I hear you can apply again after summer, so is that in terms of me taking a course in summer to boost my gpa?

——————————————

hi!

so just to confirm, you’re saying that you don’t think that you will get the required minimum marks in the required classes?

according to this link, you can apply for a subject post starting march 11, and if you meet all the requirements by may, you will be admitted in may. however, if you don’t meet the requirements by may, you can retake the courses over the summer and then request the post again starting june 11 and will be notified by early september. so yes! if at first (in may) you don’t succeed, try, try again (in june, after taking in the required courses).

just remember that any course you retake to get into a post will be designated as an “extra” course and will show up on your transcript as “EXT”. this means that it will not count towards your GPA or the 20 credits needed to graduate. it does count towards subject post requirements.

i hope this makes sense! good luck 🙂

xoxo,

aska

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computer science, internal transfer, physics, UTM

the ol’ switcheroo

March 21, 2018

Dear Aska,
I’m going to be going to UTM for computer science, as that was my backup choice and I got deferred from St. George.

However, I still feel very strongly towards physics and I was wondering if it would be possible to take physics related courses at UTM and transfer/switch my major to physics at St. George after my first year or so.

If so, when would I apply for an internal transfer and would I be able to switch my courses from a computer science major to a physics major if I were to take courses similar to someone majoring in physics as a first year?

Thank You!

——————————————

hi!

you really should direct this question to someone at the registrar’s office at UTM. since you aren’t even in first year yet, meaning that you haven’t enrolled in any courses yet, you should meet with an academic adviser at the registrar’s office, tell them about your situation and that you’re thinking of transferring, and they’ll be able to give you advise on which courses that you SHOULD take in your first year.

that being said, here is some more general info that i, a humble student blogger, dug up.

taking physics courses as a “computer science” student is totally possible. and internal transfers are also possible.

check out this page for all the info needed to transfer to the faculty of arts and sciences (scroll down to “transferring from another u of t faculty or campus).

it is also possible for you to take physics courses at UTM and then transfer to physics at st. george. one thing that you should be aware of is the program requirements and whether or not they’re different between the two campuses. i suggest that you take a look at the first year physics courses offered at UTM, see what their st. george equivalents are using the transfer explorer, and then see how many of the st. george program requirements you will have fulfilled with your UTM transfer credits.

if there are courses that you need for physics at st. george that you can’t take at UTM in your first year, you can always try to transfer after your first year and then take those courses when you get to st. george.

i really hope that helps! good luck, my young friend.

xoxo,

aska

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UTM

don, but not the draper kind

January 22, 2018

Hi!

I’m a student at UTM and I am thinking of applying to be a don at my campus next year. I heard it is REALLY competitive and hard to get in (Like 500+ apply and only 40 get it or something like that). Is that true? How hard is it to get in? Do your academics really matter? I’m a student coming back from 1yr probation so will that be a big deal? I’m actually doing very well, so far I’m getting As and A+s. I’m also trying to get involved with the school community and I am sure that I will continue to do all that throughout the school year.

If you can share any thoughts or experiences that you know about what it is like to be a don and if it is worth it and what the selection process is like that will be great.

Any information will really help, thanks 🙂

——————————————

hi!

first of all, i am so sorry that this response is so late! unfortunately, the deadline has passed for applications to be a don. again, i’m so so sorry and i hope that you were able to find the application on your own. i will still answer the question, for future reference. again, i’m so sorry.

unfortunately, i have no idea how competitive it is to get in. for info like that, you should get in contact with UTM’s student housing and residence services.

since it is a little too late to apply, at least for the 2018-19 school year, you can take a look at the requirements so you can apply next year. though i don’t know whether or not having been on probation would be a “big deal”, they do say that there isn’t “one type of person who becomes a residence life staff”. take that as you will. however, you do need to have (and maintain) a cgpa of 2.0.

i don’t know too much about donships, especially at utm, so there isn’t much i can do to help here. get in contact with student housing and residence (which i’ve linked above) and keep an eye on this page for future opportunities.

i hope this helps, and sorry again for the extremely late response.

good luck,

aska

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CR/NCR, polisci, UTM

escape (CR/NCR) from POL114

January 17, 2018

hi there! im a first year student at UTM and POL114 is really kicking my butt… i want to CR/NCR it but i also may want to minor in polisci in the future! by the end of the school year, i would have completed the 1 credit requirement for polisci without POL114 ( took POL111 and POL112). so… is it okay to CR/NCR a polisci course if i will complete the required 1 credit anyways?

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hi!

so, according to the poli sci department’s website, the only requirement for a polisci minor is 4.0FCE in POL courses, including 1.0 300-level course and 1.0 100-level course. that means, if you have POL111 and POL112, that you can safely CR/NCR POL114 and still enroll in the polisci minor. however, since it is still relatively early in the term, you could wait until you get a few marks (like, after the midterm or first assignment) to really make your decision. you might actually be doing way better than you originally thought! the deadline to cr/ncr a course is march 14th.

i would also be mindful of the other polisci programs. right now, you want to do the minor, but if you should ever want to switch to a major, you would need POL200, POL214, and a whole host of other requirements. though POL114 isn’t one of the courses that are covered in the “fields” for the major, it could count towards the “3.0 additional POL courses”. so, just keep that in mind.

other than that, i would also suggest talking to the registrar at UTM who would have the most information and would be able to give you the best advice. perhaps even better advice than i (gasp! i know!).

overall, as long as you keep what i said in mind, as well as the prereqs for future POL courses (courses that you would want to take), you can totally escape POL114. that’s what CR/NCR is right? escaping?

xoxo,

aska

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internal transfer, UTM

keep calm and (cat) slide on

January 17, 2018

Hi!
I’m currently a first year student at UTM and I was wondering if it’s possible for me to transfer to UTSG. I haven’t been able to find much information about this online. How competitive is it?
If one of the required courses for the program I want to enroll in at UTSG isn’t offered at UTM what do I do? Can I do that course after I transfer?

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hi!

yes, it is possible for you to transfer from UTM to UTSG. how competitive it is, as i’ve mentioned MANY TIMES NOW, it’s all based on the pool of applicants in any cohort. you can check out this link for more information. you can also contact enrollment services, who would have the most up-to-date and accurate information about transfers, enrollment, and recruitment.

if one of the courses you need for your desired POSt at UTSG isn’t offered in UTM, you can definitely take it when you get to UTSG. just remember that you wont be able to enroll in your desired POSt, so you’ll have to enroll in (a) placeholder program(s). you can check out the transfer explorer to see what the UTSG equivalents of your UTM credits are, you may actually have the required courses for your desired POSt and can just enroll in it once you transfer.

i hope this was helpful, i know that there isn’t much info out there on internal transfers. i would suggest making an appointment with the registrar at UTM to discuss transferring since they’ll be able to give you more personalized information and point you towards other resources.

good luck! may your transfer be smoother than this guy’s:

xoxo,

aska

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internal transfer, transfer credits, Transferring, UTM

adventure from utm to utsg

November 20, 2017

Hi!
I’m currently a first year student at UTM and I was wondering if it’s possible for me to transfer to UTSG. I haven’t been able to find much information about this online. How competitive is it? If one of the required courses for the program I want to enroll in at UTSG isn’t offered at UTM what do I do? Can I do that course after I transfer?

Thanks

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hi!

it is possible to transfer to UTSG. here is a link to the transfer page with all the information needed. just scroll down to where it says “transferring from another u of t faculty or campus”.

unfortunately, i have no idea how “competitive” it is as it is dependent on each year’s roster of applicants. try getting in contact with enrolment services, who would have the most up-to-date and accurate information about other applicants and enrolment.

if one of the required courses for the POSt that you want to enrol in at UTSG isn’t offered at UTM, you could check out the transfer explorer. some of the course codes may be different between campuses, so you may actually have the required courses. basically, type in the course code at UTM and it will show you what the equivalent course is at UTSG, if there is one. if there isn’t one, it will show you what you can get for it instead (for example, a breadth credit).

if that doesn’t really work out and you still need to take the required course, you can definitely take it after you transfer.

i hope this is helpful! good luck on your transferring adventure.

xoxo,

aska

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internal transfer, Transferring, UTM

don’t let your dreams be dreams!!

July 19, 2017

Can I transfer from UTM to UTSG in my fourth year to the same department? So my specialist is Biology, can I do the same in downtown? Thanks!

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hi!

unfortunately, i’m not 100% sure whether or not utsg would accept you as a fourth year student. i would get in contact with enrolment services and see what they say. they may deflate your dreams, but you never know!

if you were to transfer and get in, you might not be able to be in the same subject POSt or combination of subject POSts. because the program requirements at utsg are slightly different than those at utm, you might not fulfill the requirements for the equivalent program that you were in. the selection of programs is also slightly different from campus to campus, so your specific program (or program combination) might not even exist at utsg! check out the program calendar to see what the requirements are for the program that you’re interested in. i just said program a lot.

enrolment services can help you figure out what kind of program you could get into if you transferred over from utm, but i would also consider talking to the registrar at utm. they’d have tons of info too.

don’t let your dreams be dreams, dude!

xoxo,

aska

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UTM

what even is math

June 22, 2017

Hi!

So I was planning on getting into the Management major; I’m currently doing ECO100, MGM101 and MGM102 this summer. I’m having no trouble with MGM but I’m failing ECO. I was thinking of switching to the DEM Specialist.

Is DEM super math heavy with finance and economics too, or is it more art and management theory? I know there’s a mandatory 300 level ECO course, but since it’s geared towards CCIT students is it as difficult as ECO100?

Thanks!

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hi!

unfortunately, i really have no idea how math heavy DEM is. i’m not in that program and i’ve never taken those course, so i don’t know how much i can really say about it. i can’t share my experiences i also support and really identify with your math avoidance. i heckin’ hate math too.

i suggest that you check out the program calendar, though. they have all the requirements that you need to complete to finish the program. i would also get in contact with the department themselves. according to this, they have an embedded student advisor. i think it would probably be a good idea to talk to them- they have the most up-to-date and relevant information which i’m not really privy to.

i hope this helps! good luck m’dude.

xoxo,

aska

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ccit, enrolment, UTM, wait list

waitlists do not mean the end

June 4, 2017
Hi! I got accepted into Humanities at UtM, and although I have not yet accepted, I want to switch from Humanities to CCIT. However, when I went on my friend’s ACORN account, it said that the two pre-req. courses lectures had blocked enrollment. Can I still try to take those classes or will I be wait listed for a long time? 🙁

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hey,

thanks for writing in. i think this is good time to introduce you to a wonderful thing called the UTM timetable! plop in your session, year, and subject area and you’ll see everything you need. i’m not sure why you’re using your friend’s ACORN to look this up, but the timetable is definitely a much handier and accessible tool than your friend’s ACORN.

the ‘blocked enrolment’ thing that you’re referring to are actually called enrolment controls.
they ensure priority for students in that specific subject area or other related subject areas.
the pre-req courses for the major program (if that’s what you were going for): CCT109H5 and CCT110H5 have the following enrolment controls, meaning that students in these categories are given priority access:
Upper Year Studies, Honours Bachelor of Arts Newly Admitted Transfer Students – Arts (ERTRFHBA)

Studies in Communication, Culture, Information and Technology – Year 1 (ER CCI1)

Studies in Communication, Culture & Information Technology – Year 1 (ER CCI1R)

Visual Studies – Year 1 (ER VST1)

Visual Studies – Year 1 (ER VST1R)

^CCIT priority enrolment to you, a humanities student:

seeing as though you’ve been accepted as a humanities student, you wouldn’t be able to switch your admission category in first year. yes, this does mean that you might be put on a waitlist for these classes since you won’t be part of the priority enrolment group, but it seems that the classes are both quite large, (total enrolment of 700 students for CCT109 and total enrolment of 500 for CCT110) so i would keep your fingers crossed! enrol and see what happens. just make sure you have a backup in your schedule if, for some reason you don’t get in the classes.

^ this could be you! (let’s hope not)

if you’re super super super desperate and want to know if you have more options, you can always try contacting the undergraduate counsellor for CCIT at UTM.

they’ll probably be able to give you more advice on getting into the program!

best of luck to you and your friend!

peace and love,

aska
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admissions, choosing, internal transfer, other schools (boo!), UTM

the bias is real

June 4, 2017

Okay, I know a lot have talked about it but I hope you bare with me a bit.

The whole idea of studying in Canada started in Feb, and I have registered
in multiple universities, the ones which didn’t reach their deadline yet,
one of them is UofT. Sadly I didn’t make it to UTSG deadline but I have
registered for UTSC and UTM, in Computer Science (and my April IELTS exam
result getting held back for a randomly selected measuring didn’t help
my lateness). But yesterday I got admitted in UTM as UTSC have “reached
enrolment capacity”.

I’m expecting an admitting from the University of Alberta too.

Now, I would love to go to UofT but I’m not happy with the being in UTM,
less range of courses, most the events will be on the main campus, far from
downtown, need an off-campus residence, and as an international student, I
need a good social life and being off-campus won’t help.

How easy/what’s the chance for me to transfer to UTSG, what should I do and
not do to ease the transfer, and does the tuition fees differences a lot
between the two campuses?

Or should I just stick to UAlberta? (with their on-campus residence)

If I wouldn’t be able to transfer to UTSG I’ll go to UAlberta without a
second thought.

I know there isn’t a right answer to this but any thoughts and advice would
help, cause I can’t stop thinking about it and I don’t know what to choose.

Thanks.

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hey,

seeing as though this is askastudentuoft, it’s highly unlikely i’m going to tell you to go to ualberta because that would go against everything we believe in. like, do you really think i’m going to say: “yeah man, go to ualberta, they’re so much better than us!”

that being said, it’s really up to your own gut. you can definitely transfer to UTSG eventually. it’s called an internal transfer! we have tons of posts on internal transfers which will answer your question about how to do so and much more! i encourage you to look at those because there are only so many ways to say the same thing over and over again :/ to ease the transfer, you just have to work hard to get a good CGPA. what CGPA range are they looking for? it changes every year so you’ll have to ask enrolment services when you want to transfer.

not sure what you’re going to be studying, but the UTM and UTSG tuition fees look about the same if you look here! colleges at UTSG have varying incidental fees but they don’t seem to vary by much. the fees website will have tons of info on international fees.

UTM is a great school with a lot to offer. i think you’re being too hard on it. seriously, give it a chance. if your end goal is to end up at UTSG, being at UTM would definitely make the transition process much easier than if you were to transfer from ualberta

another thing to consider is the city. do you want to live in edmonton or do you want to live in mississauga/close to toronto? i’ve never been to edmonton, but i know that toronto has a great deal to offer with its multiculturalism and places to explore! toronto is awesome.

but hey, as much as we would love for you to come to U of T, we hope you make the right decision for yourself, even if it means going to another school!

you know yourself better than anyone else. you are the only one who knows what you want and what you don’t want.

peace and love,

aska

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UTM

UTM vs UTSG brawl!! (but not really)

May 29, 2017

What is the difference between UTSG and UTM? Is UTM academically less stressful? Any further details about the difference between UTSG and UTM would be much appreciated.

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hello!

this is a question we get a lot and one that i always dread answering. i really wanna avoid angry emails from admin and also i don’t have the answer (i know! aska not having the answers? crazytown). i also recently answered a really similar question and this is going to sound really repetitive… but like i said before, it’s also super unfair to say “utsg is harder than utm”- it undermines utm students’ hard work and achievements.

as for differences in general, i have never been to utm, so i don’t really know what the campus’ vibes are like. it’s a much smaller campus than utsg so there are probably smaller classes, less line-ups/ waits, more familiar faces around. on the flip side, because utsg is so big, they have a wider selection of courses. for example, the department of cinema studies is much bigger at utsg so there are more courses there than at utm. it all really depends on your personal preference. some people like the small school feel, while others like how big utsg is.

there are also some programs that are different between the campuses, so you should check out the programs that you’re interested in and which campus they are hosted at. for example, commerce at utm is not affiliated with rotman like it is at utsg.

at the end of the day, you’re at the university of toronto. even if you’re technically in mississauga.

xoxo,

aska

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bad times, gap year, lost, petition, probation, suspension, UTM

you need some good ‘ol r and r

May 24, 2017

hello aska,

i read through a lot of your answers that were tagged with relevant terms, but I still hope I am not repeating someone’s question

im a utm student about to be put on suspension… last school year i was negligent with my studies and so getting on probation was my fault entirely. this fall semester my marks have been abyssmal (i failed 3 courses) and I know it is my fault too, but there was also a situation that happened during november (2016) that I could argue affected my marks.

im not used to persisting to get exemptions or extensions (since ive never had problems that werent at least partially my fault) so I did not do anything about it at the time. now I am wondering if it is worth/possible pursuing or if it is too late. it was stressful and time consuming situation and unfortunately I do not have any official documents regarding the situation, maybe a few witnesses or pictures and onesided attempts to a file report…

i am just grasping for any straws right now if you cant tell, just looking for a way to return to uni this september. ive read that students improved after a year off but i do not see how I will be able to cope with suspension and the burden of crushed expectations during the forced year off. needing to repay my school loans once im not full time also scares me.

if my winter semester gpa is a great deal higher than my fall gpa this year is there a chance i could file a petition to return to school in september since I showed improvement?

im probably hoping you could gauge my chances of returning in september and relay to me some good news ;; although I didnt mention it a lot, I do know how much of the blame for this situation is on me.

im scared to reflect on it too much so i am trying to keep moving by looking at my options. the only hope I have right now is to ace every single one of my upcoming exams 100%..

thank you for your time with these answers

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hello,

first of all, i’m really friggin’ sorry that i didn’t get to this question in time. sometimes it’s hard to get through everyone’s questions in time for the end of the semester, but we (yes we, i’m not alone in my efforts anymore!) are working our way through them as fast as we can.

also, thank you for taking the time to see if this question has already been answered. we really appreciate it.

when you emailed us, you mentioned that you were about to be suspended. i’m assuming that the suspension has now taken effect. again, i wish i could’ve offered you some advice earlier but it really wouldn’t have had much of an effect on your situation.

so, how do we move forward from this? it sounds like you’ve had a tough year.

first: i cannot stress this enough. go to your registrar’s office as soon as possible. even though it might seem too late, they may be able to help you file a petition to lift your suspension. please keep in mind that these kinds of petitions are reserved for very special circumstances will only be approved if the committee on standing believes that there were extenuating circumstances affecting your ability to meet the demands of school. your chances of continuing school in september will depend on whether or not your registrar believes there are sufficient grounds to file a petition. don’t lose faith, there is still hope!

i’m not 100% sure about the timeline/deadlines on these types of petitions since they are very rare, but i would go the registrar’s office as soon as you can.

regarding asking for extensions from profs: this is definitely hard. it took me a long time to get used to doing it, but you really need to think about it like this: you’ll never know until you ask. at least do the bare minimum and ask. if you don’t feel comfortable with asking for extensions from your profs, registrars are also capable of sending emails on your behalf.

on the other hand, taking a year off might seem like the worst thing right now, but maybe it’s just what you need. you can get a job doing something you like and work towards paying off your student loans. the time off could be valuable for you in terms of re-evaluating your goals. a year without school might be good for your soul. think about it. a year of no readings, no essays, and no assignments sounds pretty nice tbh. relax and recuperate. it seems like what you went through was a little traumatic to say the least. don’t beat yourself up if you need some time to get back in the groove of things.

wishing you all the best,

aska

*we are always here for you if you need us for (somewhat delayed) support* <3

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computer science, fees, summer, UTM

math fun with fees

May 19, 2017

Hi there,

I’m a 4th year computer science major student in UTM, and I plan to take more than 2 credits this summer, but the fee schedule only have the tuition amount for at most 2.0 credits(like here http://www.fees.utoronto.ca/Assets/Student+Accounts+Digital+Assets/20165+Summer/20165+UTM+Intnl.pdf), what do I pay if I want to study for, let’s say 3 credits this summer?

Thanks!

———————————————

hello,

first of all, i’m assuming you’re an international student, since you linked the international student fees page in your question. if you are, in fact, a domestic student, please look at this link.

the reason why it doesn’t show any fees over 2.0 credits is because anything over 2.0 credits would be considered a course overload…

…meaning that if you wanted to do, lets say 1.5 FCE’s in one semester (3 classes per term to reach a total of 3.0 FCE’s for the whole summer), you would need special permission from your registrar’s office. if you have already been approved for this, you will just need to look at the table you provided me and do a little math.

to break down your academic fees, the PDF you attached indicates on the first page that all summer courses are charged per-course. in the table you’ll see that every 0.5 FCE costs $4,682.00, meaning that if you were to take 3.0 FCE’s, you’d have to multiply this value by 6, giving you $28,092.

since you are a full time student, you would be paying full time incidental fees ($688.96) and then UHIP fees ($204.00) in addition to your academic fees.

the math: $28,092 + $688.96 + $204.00 = $28,984.96.

meaning that your fee totals (not counting any outstanding fees you might owe) will be $28,984.96. damn that’s a whole lotta dough.

make sense?

if you are ever unsure about fees, you can contact your registrar’s office and they will be able to breakdown your fees for you!

hope this helped!

P.S. I HATE MATH, SO IF I MADE A MISTAKE PLS DON’T KILL ME

peace and love,

aska

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